Ashes of Empires

The Invisible College

Rumors persist of the survival of some few mages of the Invisible College. Large cities may afford the opportunity for secret research under assumed identities, while remote outposts of civilization might allow some practitioners of magic to pursue their arts outside of the scrutiny of the Hundkin enforcers. Dedicated to the restoration of the lost lore of their once-great College, it is said that these mages work in isolation and at great personal risk to further their arcane knowledge in the hope of someday using their power to overthrow the Hand. Some enterprising adventurers actively seek out artifacts, lore, and long-lost spells in exchange for monetary rewards offered by the elusive and scattered wizards and sorcerors of the College.

Organization

With the defeat of the College, the apparent loss of its leader, and the scattering of its surviving members, the ascendancy to the seat of Archmage is a question without an answer. Prior to the end of the war, the mages of the Near Kingdoms had been organized into distinct schools of magic, each with its own master, reporting to the Archmage who oversaw them all. Now, the lone surviving mages seem to lack the ability to organize themselves, instead working individually to regain some of the arcana lost in the devastating attack against the College’s many-spired compound during the invasion of Trestis Fortuna.

Goals

While individual mages pursue their own goals within their respective canons of magic, in general it may be stated that they share a hatred for the Hand and a strong desire to return to their place of power at the right hand of the exiled rulers of the Near Kingdoms. It is widely assumed that their dogged pursuit of lost knowledge is a preparatory step for an all-out magical assault on the oppressors, opening the way for the restoration of peace under the lost but still familiar guidance of the exiles.